Inequality is a hot topic at the moment, thanks to The Spirit Level, the Occupy Movement, and the banks. So naturally, Labour is thinking of abandoning its policies to reduce it:
The Labour Party is understood to be considering ditching its pre-election policy of a tax on incomes over $150,000 and scrapping its proposal to expand Working For Families entitlements to include beneficiaries, as the party looks to reposition itself towards the centre.I guess they have to get those rich ACT-donors on-side somehow.
Its another example of the sucking ideological void at the heart of the party. If a party of the left stands for anything, you'd expect it to be reducing inequality. And its not exactly difficult to make a case for: people intuitively grasp that inequality is both unfair and damaging, a pressing social problem we need to do something about. Fighting it is therefore both right and popular. But Labour doesn't make cases for its policies anymore; they follow rather than shape public opinion. And then they wonder why the Greens are eating them alive...
